As earnings season kicks into high gear, there is one major question that could determine where stocks and inflation will head from here: Will companies continue to raise prices or cut costs in an attempt to maintain the record profit margins of 2021?
As this column discussed three months ago, the S&P 500 index’s SPX record profit margin in 2021 was a historical anomaly, topping 12% when it had never before hit 11%. Wall Street analysts at the time expected record margins to continue through this year and into 2023 and 2024,…